Statement on Medicare for All

NETA member Maaike van Westen worked with a small group to craft this statement in support of Medicare for all. NETA's board and president approved the initiative.

With the undermining of the Affordable Care Act and the passing of the GOP tax bill, access to health insurance may become uncertain for translators and interpreters. Most translators are self-employed and face increasing income insecurity. Some of us are insured under a spouse’s health plan, underinsured, or reliant on ACA subsidies. If we don’t qualify for subsidies, we may pay almost as much for premiums as for housing. Our self-employed status makes us especially vulnerable to cuts in subsidies, rate increases, and high deductibles.

However, Massachusetts is seeing growing support for legislation to address rising healthcare costs (bill S.2202) and to create a state-wide Medicare for All system (S.619). Such a single-payer system would provide quality care for all state residents, regardless of income, age, pre-existing conditions, and marital status. Illness would no longer be accompanied by possibly devastating out-of-pocket costs. Translators and interpreters would no longer face uncertainty regarding subsidies and rising premiums—we would pay a stable income tax instead.

For these reasons, the New England Translators Association supports Medicare for All. We ask our senators and representatives to do the same.